Scientists Study Wind Perceptions While Turbines Destroy Oceans

July 15, 2025•0 min read

Oregon State University researchers are conducting perception studies about offshore wind development in Coos Bay, North Bend, Charleston, and Bar View. They are asking Oregon coastal residents about wind projects off the coast of the State of Maine.

The communities directly affected by the potential of wind turbine projects here in Oregon have already cast their votes. The two counties in Oregon, Coos and Curry, overwhelmingly rejected offshore wind development through the democratic process in the 2024 General Election.

The Researchers Know this Fact

They have concrete ballot data showing community opposition. Yet, they are going to survey a local population about projects they have no direct stake in to gauge their perceptions. The taxpayers will be footing the bill for this “research.”

When Engineering Failures Meet Research Manipulation

While researchers focus on "perceptions," documented failures reveal systemic problems. The Vineyard Wind project experienced catastrophic blade failure in July 2024, forcing beach closures across Nantucket.

GE Vernova's 300-foot turbine blade broke during mild weather conditions. Wind speeds measured at the time of the failure ranged from 6 to 13 miles per hour.

The company was unable to explain why its blade failed. Three days passed before anyone understood the scope of the problem. GE Vernova ultimately paid $10.5 million in settlement costs to the Nantucket authorities.

Manufacturing deviations at the Canadian plant affected more than 60 installed blades. The entire batch required removal and replacement.

It is a demonstrated pattern that has been repeated. GE Vernova blades have failed across multiple countries, including Germany, Sweden, Lithuania, and the United Kingdom.

The Monitoring Gap That Hides Environmental Destruction

Commercial fishing boats are subject to constant monitoring requirements. Every vessel must demonstrate compliance with environmental regulations to prevent overfishing and protect the seasonal breeding cycles of marine species.

Offshore wind installations operate under different standards. No equivalent monitoring systems track their environmental impact.

The consequences are measurable. Scientific studies document how electromagnetic fields from underwater cables affect the behavior of marine life. Crabs become immobilized when exposed to magnetic fields generated by power transmission systems.

These creatures require long-distance seafloor movement for feeding and breeding. Magnetic field exposure effectively traps them in place, disrupting essential life cycles.

Lobster larvae show similar impacts. Exposure to electromagnetic fields causes deformities in developing lobsters, with bent tail sections and disrupted eye development occurring at three times the normal rate.

These deformities impair swimming ability. Affected larvae are unable to reach surface waters, thereby preventing them from accessing food sources, resulting in population-level impacts across marine ecosystems.

Research Design Reveals Predetermined Outcomes

The Oregon study's methodology reveals a systematic bias. Researchers survey communities that have democratically rejected these projects. Still, instead of asking about Oregon projects, they ask the same population for their perception on another project in which they have no direct experience or stake in the outcomes.

It is a clever approach that serves specific purposes. It generates data that supports predetermined conclusions while avoiding inconvenient democratic opposition or valid scientific evidence.

The Department of Energy regularly funds research of this type. The same agency promotes offshore wind development as national policy, creating an inherent conflict between the objectivity of research and the objectives of the funding source.

Academic institutions participating in this research face pressure to produce results that support federal energy policies, where scientific integrity often takes a backseat to political outcomes.

Environmental Law Exemptions for Green Energy

Endangered species protections apply differently to renewable energy projects. Traditional energy development is subject to comprehensive environmental impact assessments and ongoing monitoring requirements.

Offshore wind installations operate under relaxed standards. Marine mammal deaths, disrupted migration patterns, and ecosystem damage receive minimal regulatory attention.

The magnetic field's impact on crab and lobster populations affects entire food chains. These species support commercial fisheries and provide essential nutrition for larger marine predators.

Fishing communities lose their livelihoods while environmental agencies focus on perception studies rather than biological impact assessments. The regulatory disparity creates legal exemptions for ecological damage.

Off the coast of New Jersey and New York, where there is construction of wind turbines, there have been dozens of reported beached whales. A top NOAA scientist under the Biden Administration, Sean Hayes, sent a memo addressed to a dozen scientists at NOAA and to the lead biologist at BOEM, Brian Hooker, stating this.

“the development of offshore wind poses risks to these species [whales]” and that “these risks occur at varying stages, including construction and development, and include increased noise, vessel traffic, habitat modifications, water withdrawals associated with certain substations.”

It was about the time a massive humpback whale was first seen floating lifeless off the coast of Brigantine Beach on January 28, 2023, where it finally washed ashore on a Long Island beach, when the Mayors of 12 New Jersey cities called for a moratorium on all offshore wind activity.

Fish and other sea life are not the only victims of the wind turbines.

David Wojick, PHD, wrote an Eagle kill report on the US Fish and Wildlife’s plan to exempt wind turbines from the environmental impacts of eagle kills.

Executive Summary : Nearly 15 years ago, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) determined that the golden eagle population could not withstand an increase in human-caused mortality. However, a large queue of proposed wind projects sought FWS permits exempting them from harm they may cause eagles under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act—permits that would inevitably increase the kill rate. In response, the FWS created an offset program in which eagle deaths caused by wind turbines would purportedly be compensated for by reducing electrocution deaths from power poles. We now know this offset program has completely failed, as there has been no measurable reduction in electrocution deaths.

Today, both the power poll and the wind turbine kill with impunity.

Following the Money Trail

Offshore wind projects depend on government subsidies for economic viability. Without federal support, these installations cannot compete with traditional energy sources based on cost efficiency.

The subsidy structure distorts economic analysis. Research studies often emphasize the theoretical benefits while overlooking the real-world costs and environmental damage.

GE Vernova's $10.5 million settlement represents a fraction of total project costs. These expenses get absorbed by taxpayers through subsidy programs rather than affecting industry profitability.

Companies can afford environmental violations when government funding covers the costs of cleanup. This creates incentives for continued ecological damage.

Wind Energy is Expensive

Sixty-seven percent of the State of California is running on so-called “clean” energy. The national average in the first quarter of 2025 was 17.5 cents per kilowatt-hour, compared to the state’s three largest providers, which averaged more than double at 36.6 cents per kilowatt-hour. Analysts have identified several contributing factors to the high cost of energy in California, with wind energy being one of them.

The cost of wind energy has fallen in the past several years.

However, the reason wind energy remains more expensive, despite its price having decreased, is due to government subsidies of the industry, which are paid for by taxpayers. The combined cost to consumers makes wind energy one of the most expensive sources of energy to produce. Placing giant wind turbines at 3,000 to 4,000 feet above the most turbulent ocean waters is unlikely to reduce that cost.

Dr Gordon Hughes is a Professor of economics at the University of Edinburgh, where he teaches courses in the economics of natural Resources and Public economics. Dr. Hughes wrote a report that shows meeting Britain's target for renewable energy by 2020 would require a total investment of some £120 billion in wind turbines and back-up. The exact amount of electricity that gas-fired power plants could generate at a cost of only £13 billion is an order of magnitude cheaper.

Energy Companies & Bureaucracies Should be Investigated

Trump's Executive Order eliminating offshore wind projects fundamentally changes the research context. Studies designed to manufacture public support for cancelled projects serve no legitimate scientific purpose.

Congressional oversight should examine research methodology and funding allocation. Academic institutions using taxpayer money to conduct biased surveys deserve scrutiny.

Environmental law violations require investigation, and the government should apply them equally or eliminate them if they serve no purpose. Agencies that ignored the impacts on endangered species while promoting renewable energy development operated outside their legal authority.

The efficiency claims supporting offshore wind development need independent verification. Real-world energy output and environmental costs tell a different story from what government-funded research suggests.

Scientific integrity demands honest assessment of documented failures, environmental damage, and economic inefficiency. Communities that voted against these projects deserve better than perception manipulation disguised as research.

To find out more about the public resistance to the Offshore Wind Turbine projects off the coast of southern Oregon, go to www.OAWT.com.

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